what causes constant diarrhoea and what makes it go bright yellow and pure water?

What causes constant diarrhoea and what makes it go bright yellow and pure water? My doctor has recently diagnosed me with irritable bowel syndrome and put me on the drug Citalopram stating that this might work for me, have been on it a couple of weeks now so still waiting to see if it works.

What Causes Constant Yellow Diarrhea

Sorry to hear of your constant bright yellow diarrhoea. There are numerous causes, many of which are outlined on this page (click on the return to Bright yellow diarrhea below). I note you have been put on Citalopram, an SSRI drug, but this does take several weeks to really work and may not be successful depending on the cause of your constant yellow diarrhea.

To answer what causes the yellow diarrhea, it is usually due to malabsorption of fat in the small bowel giving rise to the yellowness which is the fat. This causes the stool to float in the toilet pan. The fat in the can be proved by sending a stool sample to the lab. They can stain the stool for fat or estimate the amount of fat that is contained within the stool.

You should have investigations done if your symptoms don't settle with the Citalopram. These investigations should include an antibody blood test for a condition called coeliac disease (the test is called an EMA or TTG test), a stool sample to confirm the presence of fat in the stool, a pancreatic test (either a Pancreolauryl test or Faecal elastase test) to check if the pancreas is working properly and may be other investigations such as endoscopic tests depending on what is found with the previous investigations.

I would avoid fat in your diet, caffeine, flavoured carbonated drinks and alcohol in the interim as these can make symptoms worse. I hope this helps and good luck!